iTunes: https://goo.gl/CMv4fr Google Play: https://goo.gl/3Z3ege

The Most HorsePowerful Podcast On The Internet, The Xbox Drive is back with Episode 77! Sean played Far Cry New Dawn! Luke has invested a great deal of time into Anthem, 1K’ed Apex Legends, and continues to dabble in his evergreen titles. Buckle up and drive safe!

The Playlist

Luke: Anthem, Apex Legends

Sean: Far Cry: New Dawn

Braking News

New Features Rolling Out to Xbox Insiders This Spring https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2019/02/21/new-features-rolling-out-to-xbox-insiders-this-spring/

Division 2 Open Beta this weekend. 3.1 -3.4. 3 main missions, 5 side missions, and the Dark Zone will be on display. Are we excited for this? https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/02/25/the-division-2-open-beta-details-revealed

Games With Gold for March announced. Adventure Time: Pirates of Enchiridion (X1), Plants vs. Zombies 2 (X1), Star Wars: Republic Commando (OGX), Metal Gear Rising: Revengence (X360) https://majornelson.com/2019/02/27/xbox-live-games-with-gold-for-march-2019/  

This week’s Deals With Gold is exceptional. Watch Dogs 2 is $9, Far Cry 4 at $13, Starlink $24, Wildlands $15, etc. https://www.windowscentral.com/xbox-live-deals-with-gold

Phoenix Wright Trilogy Ace Attorney, Justice For All, and Trials and Tribulation is coming to multiple consoles including Xbox on April 9th. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-02-27-capcoms-phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-trilogy-is-out-in-april

Pit Stop Topics

Anthem impressions after week one

Halo 4 was originally pitched as an Xbox One launch title according to Bonnie Ross in an IGN interview. https://ca.ign.com/articles/2019/02/27/halo-4-originally-pitched-as-xbox-one-launch-title-ign-unfiltered

Does the launch of Anthem, Destiny 2, or Apex change the way betas roll out?

Could this hurt sales the way Anthem was seemingly hurt?

Consider other phased releases: Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 4, FIFA and other EA Sports games.

Breaking News: Ubisoft announces Year 1 Pass will grants 7-Day Early Access to Episodes and Instant Access to All Year 1 Specializations as They Release. Perhaps Early Access should be limited to post-launch content. Is Ubisoft the real genius?

The Car Pool - Listener Question

Todd Oxtra @SecretFriendsUnite: With Gamepass being so successful do you anticipate more additional DLC/microtransactions to supplement/offset the lower revenue stream for publishers/dev teams?   Music streaming hasn't been that profitable for artists and most make up their biggest income from tours and merch.

Cruise Control - Topic of the Show

In game communication systems. Apex Legends brought a revolutionary (yes) level of in-game communication between players without needed a microphone. While the ping-system is not necessarily new overall, it’s implementation is near-perfect in Apex.

Could or should this system be adopted by more franchises given the future rise of things like project xCloud and mobile gaming? Not everyone will have or want access to a microphone while gaming.  

Plugs

Luke:http://twitter.com/MLSReserves

http://mixer.com/insipidghost

Sean:http://twitter.com/seancapri

http://twitch.tv/seancapri